While social media can be a great way for you to stay connected with your family and friends, as well as your favorite brands, it also presents opportunities for fraudsters.
With every social media account that you sign up for, every picture posted, and every check-in and status update, you are sharing information about yourself with the world – including scammers.
Fraud is prevalent on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported more than 95,000 complaints in 2021 about scams that were created with social media ads, posts, and messages. The FTC claimed such incidents cost consumers over $770 million.
Scammers hack social media accounts to disguise as your actual friends or relatives and send out private messages with alleged links.
Facebook quizzes may seem like harmless fun, but the Better Business Bureau warns that these quizzes can be used as an opening to steal your online identity and obtain personal data.
Innocent-sounding queries about your high school mascot or first car are something else scammers use as they know these are common security questions that financial institutions use to protect accounts.
If you get a message asking if that is you in the photo or video with a link to alleged online evidence of embarrassing behavior, suppress your curiosity and hit “delete.” Clicking the link will take you to a site that mimics one of the popular social networks and prompts you to log in, a ploy for hackers to get your credentials and access your account.
A post that directs you to another website to claim a prize, win a gift card, or fill out a survey screams “scam.”
Watch out for Easy Money Scams
Scammers will recruit students or anyone looking for easy money through social media. They will make posts to attempt to lure in vulnerable individuals with posts about how to make fast money and show pictures of cash and luxury merchandise. After convincing people to share their account information and online banking credentials, scammers will deposit fraudulent checks to the victim’s account. Once the money is transferred elsewhere, the check is returned and the victim may be responsible for any financial losses.
Do check and update the privacy settings on your social media accounts so only people you know see your posts.
Do use different passwords for your different social media accounts and update your passwords every few months so that if someone gets a hold of an old or saved password, it will no longer be useful.
Do contact a friend, offline, if you receive a social media message from them about an investment opportunity or urgent need for money. Their account may have been hacked or duplicated.
Do think carefully about what you post about yourself and your whereabouts. Not only are scammers great at using personal information for identity theft, but an innocent vacation photo can signal to criminals that your home is empty.
Don’t include personal information like your home address, phone number, or workplace in your social profile.
Don’t download apps via links on social media unless you can confirm they come from a trusted source.
Don’t take social media quizzes or surveys that ask personal questions as this can assist fraudsters in guessing passwords and answering security questions to identify you.
Don’t log in to social media sites while using a public Wi-Fi network as many are poorly secured, leaving openings for scammers to obtain personal data associated with your social accounts.
Don’t accept friend requests from strangers. If you receive a request from someone you are already friends with, reach out to that person outside of social media to verify it is truly them.
Scammers can create fraudulent accounts that resemble the social media pages of legitimate companies, like Bethpage, and, by doing so, can entice you to share your personal or financial information. So, it’s important to know the social media account handle for the company you are dealing with to make sure you are communicating with a legitimate account.
Please note: Bethpage will never initiate a conversation with you asking for your sensitive personal information through social media. Any message you receive from us (the Bethpage brand or Bethpage employees) on social media will come from our official account and will only be in response to a contact you initiated (e.g., commenting on our page or photos, sending us a private message, or mentioning us in a comment).
If you come across a social media account impersonating Bethpage, or if you fall victim to a social media scam, call Bethpage right away at 800-628-7070.
When interacting with Bethpage on social media, be sure to look for the following information to ensure you are safely connecting with our accounts:
